“Deep Web” is a 2015 documentary film directed by Alex Winter, chronicling events surrounding Silk Road, bitcoin and politics of the Dark Web. Covering the trial of Ross Ulbricht, the documentary features interviews with Wired writer Andy Greenberg and developer Amir Taaki. The film explores how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology, with our digital rights hanging in the balance. Pedro Bromfman wrote the score.

This is a documentary and more so, an investigative documentary. This means the composer doesn’t have a lot of options if he wants to serve the film right. It’s clear from the first few cues of “Deep web”: the music is slow burning, tense without being imposing and quiet enough to let the viewer focus on what’s happening on screen. As a standalone listen it’s a little difficult to connect to because for me it needs the support of the images to be complete. The score is nice but it kind of fades in the background; I can do other things while I listen to it. There’s very little emotion to get hooked to and I am sure it’s the fault of the story. Documentary scores sometimes make for less rewarding listens out of context.

I like music that stirs my imagination and brings various images in my mind; I like music that creates something inside me. “Deep web” doesn’t really do that. The music rarely chances pace or level of energy and it feels a little blurry. It feels as if I am looking at static on TV when I know that the images below would interest me. I keep waiting for spaces in that static through which I could see what’s happening. I know something is going on, I can hear the echo, but I can’t feel it.

If you enjoy tense thriller scores for what they are, “Deep web” will do it for you. Just like he did with “Narcos” a few months ago, Pedro Bromfman delivered a score served the TV show perfectly but lacked a bit as a standalone listen.